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I get asked often about picking an insurance agent. People buy a house and they want to find an agent. Or they want to shop around. Unfortunately, most people make the same mistake: they shop solely based on price. Insurance is something that should not go to the lowest bidder, like building a house. You want someone good.

I tell clients who call me that they need to like their insurance agent and NOT shop on price. Insurance agents can make the price look good in a lot of ways, but most of those end up costing money in the long term. They need to find someone who will work with them, explain to them why one policy is better than another, answer their questions, and be able to walk them through this process.

For example, you look at two policies that look the same, but one policy provides replacement cost coverage on your contents and the other does not. The replacement cost policy is better for most people, but will be more expensive. Is that something you should pick? A good agent will help you with that.

Of course, sometimes you want someone independent to look at your policy for you. I still offer free insurance reviews by simply emailing me at jonathan@jonathangstein.com and asking for a review.

I get a lot of calls in a month about property damage issues. The big ones are "How much do they owe for my car?" and "Why isn't there enough to pay for my repairs?"

First, property damage claims, especially if it is only property damage and their is no injury, are difficult to take as an attorney. If your repairs are $10,000 and I take a contingency fee on it, you end up with $7,000 - probably. Now you don't have enough to repair your car. So you aren't happy. Hence, most attorneys won't take a property damage only case.

Second, how much do they owe you? It depends. There are a few situations that come up:

a. Your car is repairable and you have collision coverage - your insurance company owes you to fix your car; b. Your car is a repairable and you have no collision coverage - if the other driver is at fault, they owe you to repair your car plus either a rental car or loss of use; c. Your car is a total loss and you have collision coverage - your insurance company owes you the fair market value of your car (note it is not the blue book value of your car); d. Your car is a total loss and you do not have collision coverage - if the other driver is at fault, they owe you the fair market value of your car plus either rental or loss of use.

So A and C are pretty clear. The problem comes with B and D. If you do not have collision coverage, you may be at the mercy of the other driver's insurance company. If that driver does not have enough insurance, you may not get paid in full for your car. The insurance company will only pay up to the property damage limits of the other driver. Hence, if you have $6,500 in damage and their limit is only $5,000, the most the insurance company will pay is $5,000. You will NOT be paid in full.

This is one reason you should carry collision on your car. It is possible that someone else could damage your car and you may not get paid in full for the repairs.

Of course, if you have any questions, you can call my office or email me for a free consultation.

People sometimes call me up and ask a simple question: Why should I hire you to help me with my car accident? After all, it should be easy to resolve. As simple as it sounds, it is an important question.

I have said this a thousand times, and I will say it a thousand more times: most of what lawyers do is not rocket science. That being said, we know what we are doing and you do not.

These are all things you could learn to do - if you had the time and the desire. None of them is that hard. However, they all require a certain amount of expertise. I admit that I cannot fix my home A/C, although I can change my oil and I have. I just don't want to spend the time and energy to become a professional at it. It doesn't require a college degree, but it does require skill.

Similarly, the law requires a certain skill. You could learn everything you need to know to handle your own personal injury case - maybe. But it will cost you time and money. And if you make a mistake, it could cost you thousands.

How do you know the value of your case? What if you need treatment not covered by your health insurance? What do you do if your child is a minor and is injured? These are just some of the questions that could affect your case.

Hire an attorney because we know what we are doing. I will save you time and hassle in learning this. I will work for you to get your matter resolved efficiently.

Almost 10 years ago, I wrote about formulas used to settle your claim. You can read that post here. The gist of that story: there is no formula for figuring out the value of your personal injury case.

10 years later and the website I talked about is gone but the idea is still around. A quick Google search reveals over half a million hits on this topic.

But do you know what is still true? There is no formula to figure out the value of a case. Do you know what does work? Experience.

If you think about it, this is really no different than anything else. I can show you how to throw a football, but if you want to be good at it, go throw 10,000 footballs. I can teach you how to install a tile floor. But if you want to be really good at it, go install a whole bunch of tile floors.

Personal injury claims are no different. If you want to be good at it, you need to do it a lot. You probably cannot do it a lot since you are not in a lot of accidents. However, an attorney who handles cases like this does it a lot. Thus, the attorney has a sense of what your case is worth.

Studies have shown that people who hire attorneys do better, overall, then people who try to resolve their claims themselves. It makes sense: hiring an expert pays off.

If you have been injured in a car accident, call me for a free consultation.

People talk about insurance limits all the time and most of the time no one knows what it means. Attorneys are notorious for this. "My client has a 15/30 policy." Or "The defendant only has a 30/60 policy." What are these limits, why do they matter and, most importantly, who cares?

Insurance policy limits, in a car insurance policy, are crucial. They apply in a few areas. You can have a limit for rental coverage or med pay or bodily injury. The limit is the most the insurance company will pay.

So, for example, my rental limit is $1,200. That means my insurance company will pay up to $1,200 while I am in a rental car if my car is damaged by a covered claim. Some rental limits are listed as "10/$300." That means the insurance company will pay up to a maximum of 10 days or $300, whichever comes first.

In the context of bodily injury (and more importantly, uninsured motorist), limits are stated as two numbers. The first number is the per person limit. The second number is the per accident limit. So, if someone has limits of $15,000/$30,000, what does this mean? It means the insurance company will pay up to $15,000 to any one person and a maximum of $30,000 for any one accident. So if you hit a car with 3 people, the most the insurance company will pay is $30,000, even if each claim is worth $15,000.

Why does this matter? Let's say you own a home and two cars. You have a 15/30 limit. (In shorthand, we do not write out the "$" or the ",000" to designate thousands since we all know that we are talking about money and about thousands of dollars.) You hit a car full of people. Your insurance company is only going to pay out $30,000 as a maximum. If you have assets, someone may sue you to come after your personal assets.

So having the right amount of insurance is important. Having "full coverage" means nothing. You need to know EXACTLY HOW MUCH your limits are. If you own a home, a 100/300 policy is a good starting point. But it is only a starting point. You need to know your limits and you need to make sure your uninsured motorist limits match your bodily injury liability limits.

Limits are an important part of insurance. If you do not know your limits, talk to your agent. If you still do not understand it, call me for a free consultation.

6. WHAT CONTINUING EDUCATION DOES THE ATTORNEY TAKE?Every attorney in California is required to take continuing education. However, the types of courses and content of the courses is left to the discretion of the attorney. You want to know that your attorney is up on current changes in the law.

7. WHAT TECHNOLOGY DOES YOUR ATTORNEY USE?Technology can help your case move along. It can help you keep in contact with your client. It can also help in the courtroom. You need to find out if your attorney uses technology to help your case.

8.DOES YOUR ATTORNEY WRITE/TEACH ABOUT THE SUBJECT?

Attorneys who write or teach about a subject will be more up to date on the subject. You want to find someone who regularly writes, speaks or teaches on the subject.

9. DOES YOUR ATTORNEY HAVE REFERENCES?

Not every attorney will give you references. Ethically, we cannot give out our client's names without their permission. However, if possible, you want to speak to one or two references.

10.EVERY ATTORNEY IS DIFFERENT

Every attorney is different and some attorneys who are good for one situation are not good for another. Make sure you are comfortable with your attorney and that you have hired someone who you believe you can deal with for 6 months to several years.

A lot of attorneys like to tell you about their other cases. However, your case is different. Each case has its own facts. Just because they got someone else millions of dollars does not mean that your case is worth that, or that they will get you that result.

2. CHECK THE STATE BAR WEBSITEThe State Bar website, www.calbar.ca.gov allows you to check the current status of every attorney. You MUST do this.

3. ASK WHAT ASSOCIATIONS HE/SHE BELONGS TO

There are a variety of associations designed to assist personal injury attorneys. Ask if the attorney belongs to ATLA, CAOC or a local trial lawyers association.

4. DOES HE/SHE REPRESENT INSURANCE COMPANIES?

If your attorney also presently works for the insurance companies, they may not get you the best settlement for your case. Their interest may be with the insurance companies and not with you.

5. WHAT PRIOR EXPERIENCE DOES YOUR ATTORNEY HAVE?

Some attorneys have only been attorneys. And that is fine for some cases. But, sometimes you want an attorney who has worked inside the insurance companies. This inside knowledge can help your case!

6. CHECK FOR WITNESSESSome people may stop, look around, and then leave. If you see these people, get their information. Talk to them. You want their name, number, address, and any other information they will give. You may need to find them later.

7. EXCHANGE INFORMATIONTake out a piece of paper, rip it in half, and write your name, phone number, address and insurance information on half. Give a pen and paper to the other person and ask him for this same information. You may also want to write down license plate numbers as well.

8.LEAVE THE SCENE

So far, you have done everything right. At this point, unless you are waiting for a tow truck, leave the scene. There is nothing else to accomplish here.

9. CALL THE INSURANCE COMPANY

You should report the claim to your insurance company when you get home, or the next day at the latest. Tell them where the accident happened, when, with whom (from your half sheet of paper), whether there is a police report, if anyone was injured, and that is it. Do not talk about anything else at this point. It is still too fresh after the accident.

10.TALK TO AN ATTORNEY

Even if you decide not to retain an attorney, one can help you evaluate your case, who is at fault, and explain your options. An attorney should also explain to you the process, who repairs your car, and how to protect yourself. Get a consultation - most of them are free. Then, when you are informed, you can make a better decision for yourself!

There is very little reason to leave your car in the middle of the road after an accident. First, it is not safe. Second, it just creates another hazard for the other drivers. If your car is driveable, move it to the side of the road.

2. MAKE SURE NO ONE IS HURTBefore you can do anything else, you must see if anyone is hurt. If someone is hurt, do not move them. Call 911 and request an ambulance. Let the professionals provide assistance and evaluate the injured people.

3. CALL THE POLICE

I know they do not always come, but you should call them. Make sure that you tell them where the accident happened, and be specific.

4. TAKE PICTURES

Take pictures of everything. Take pictures of the accident scene, any debris, skid marks, your car, the other person's car and any visible injuries. You should always carry a disposable camera in your car for just this very reason!

5. BE PLEASANT!

It doesn't matter if the other person hit you when you are stopped. He feels bad about it already. Do not yell at him. Do not embarrass him. Do not humiliate him. Be nice, for one day it may be you who causes an accident.

As you know from reading my blog, and you should read my blog, most cases settle. In my last post, I wrote about the first five steps of a lawsuit. Those steps included filing the lawsuit and going through discovery. Not every case is the same and your case may have different steps. But here are 5 more steps that should happen in this order:

1. ARBITRATION

In California, most cases go to judicial arbitration. The court will typically refer you to an arbitration. An arbitrator, an independent third party, hears the evidence and determines the value of the case. A written decision is then sent to the parties.

2. ACCEPT/REJECT ARBITRATION

Each party has 60 days to reject the arbitration award. This is an estimated time and you should check with your attorney about your deadlines. If no one rejects the arbitration award, it becomes a judgment and the defendant pays it. If either party rejects it, then the case is set for trial.

3. EXPERT DISCOVERY

Each side may retain an expert or experts. These are people who will help tell the jury what happened, including about your injuries. Each side discloses their experts and then the experts can be deposed, similar to your deposition.

4. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Most cases in California then have a settlement conference. This is one last attempt to get the case settled before the costs and uncertainty of a trial. A practicing attorney hears about the case and tries to get the parties to agree to a settlement. In some counties, a judge may handle the settlement conference.

5.TRY THE CASE

If the case cannot be settled, a judge or jury will hear the case. Each side will have an opening statement, a chance to present evidence to the jury, a chance to cross-examine the other sides witnesses and a closing argument. The jury will then decide the case and render a verdict.

A lawsuit in California can be broken down into these 10 steps. Not every case will have all of these steps. If you are unsure about the steps in your case, talk to your attorney.

DISCLAIMER

Notice

This blog is made available by the lawyer publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog publisher. The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state. Jonathan G. Stein, is licensed to practice law in the state of California only.
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